


Let's Be Legends

by wolf1Ez



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, College!AU, F/F, F/M, Mentions Of Blurryface, band!au, hana and lucio in last chapter btw, specifically 21 pilots lmaoo, super widowtracer and pharmercy centric btw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-21
Updated: 2018-06-27
Packaged: 2018-11-16 18:08:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11258175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolf1Ez/pseuds/wolf1Ez
Summary: Lena's just a college kid trying to get through school and maintian a healthy social life, all while being the lead singer of a popular band and playing at concerts weekly. Fareeha's there too, as the ultimate wing-woman and partner in crime.Added a warning and upped the audience thing for some substance abuse and homophobia.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a while since I've written and posted anything. But no worries -- I've got other stuff sitting in my google docs waiting to be posted somewehre, most of it Overwatch junk. Writing this reminded me how fun it is to just imagine n write so I hope you guys enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it!

Lena leapt over the last five steps of the library stairs leading to the common rooms, landing with a muffled thud before making a sharp right towards the language section of the building. She carefully leapt over a table, barely missing a stack of textbooks and papers as she practically flew. She clutched her book bag and stopped, glancing up and down the rows of shelves filled to the brim with books. She spotted her tutor, sitting patiently at their table with a copy of Twilight and reading along with bored eyes. She quickly dashed over, waving wildly with a grin.

“Sorry I was running a bit late, ‘Melie.” Lena apologized, setting her study guides and French books haphazardly onto the desk. “Winston kept me back, said I needed to do some research for him over Winter Break.”

Amelie set the novel down and threw an unimpressed glance at the brunette.

“I'm proud of you.” Lena grinned at the comment but her smile quickly fell when Amelie shot her a glare,”But that's the 3rd time this week, I'm beginning to think you really don't take these tutor sessions seriously.”

Lena pouted and took Amelie’s hand between her own.

“Love, I'd be failing this bloody bullshit class if it weren't for your blessed, kind heart.” she said with eyes wide and a genuine smile.

“It's not bullshit,” Amelie said in mock hurt,”You're lucky the administration didn't throw you into something else like Chinese or German. French is such a beautiful language.”

“As beautiful as a gorilla.” Lena teased. ”The grammer is pure hell.”

The older woman rolled her eyes and pulled her hand away, reaching for the papers Lena strewn all over their work table.

“Ever so charming. Well let's see what we have here...”

Lena stared at Amelie, nodding every now and then to make it appear as if she was paying attention. And she was, to every word of Amelie’s lecture on French grammer and vocabulary.

But she was also focusing on the way her lips moved, her enunciation and accent. On the way her eyes would glance from the paper to Lena, to make sure she was understanding. The way she would chuckle, quietly, when she taught Lena new words and she would have difficulty pronouncing them. The way Amelie would smile at her, even when Lena would frequently show up late to their tutor sessions. The way that, even though Amelie wanted to appear stoic and aloof, her facade would always melt when she was around Lena.

The brunette knew Amelie would never see her the same way she did, but she was more than content to keep it as close friends.

After an hour or so of studying and playful banter, Amelie had to leave for her next class. She stood somewhat relunctantly, collected her supplies, and handed back now completed assignments and study guides.

“You better be here tomorrow, on time.” Amelie emphasized. Lena packed her things away and grinned up at her tutor.

“Anything for you, Amelie.” she offered a two finger salute and Amelie rolled her eyes. She offered one last smile before waving goodbye.

“Au revior, Lena.”

The brunette waved back fondly as Amelie turned to exit the building.

\---

Lena sat in her room on a bean bag, strumming her guitar gently and fingering out random chords and notes. Fareeha laid on the floor at her feet, grinning up at her phone as she held it up from her face and tapping away. When she giggled quietly, Lena couldn't help but cringe.

“Fareeha, love, what're you doing?”

The Egyptian suddenly sat up and whirled around to face Lena, clutching her phone to her chest and hiding the screen from her. She was blushing like mad and Lena easily put the puzzle pieces together.

“Are you getting nudes?!” Lena yelled, sudenly interested in whatever Fareeha was giggling about earlier. Fareeha quickly stood and made her way towards the door. But Lena was faster, setting the guitar down on its stand and tackling Fareeha down before she could open the door. They wrestled on the floor, trying to take the phone from the other.

“They're not nudes!” Fareeha said breathlessly, trying to lock her phone before Lena could grab it. She clicked the off button and smirked at the smaller girl, but Lena wretched the phone from her hands, raising it above her head and leaping onto the top bed of their shared bunk beds. It was too close to the ceiling for Fareeha’s broad shoulders to fit through, but it was just enough room for Lena to retreat into.

“I hate to tell you this, but I have a good guess on what you're password could be.”

The phone buzzed twice, rejecting Lena's initial inputs before granting her access when she put in: ang31azeigler123. The phone buzzed again as it allowed Lena access and she cheekily grinned down at the Egyptian.

“You should really change your password.”

“Lena!” Fareeha whined from underneath extending the last syllable, but she didn't make any move to grab her phone back. Lena skimmed through the texts before peeping over the bed to stare at Fareeha.

“You guys are bloody cute, what the fuck. I didn't even know you knew the word ‘cutie’.” Lena teased before she tossed Fareeha the phone. ”No nudes, though. Shame.”

“You're such a softie.” she added when Fareeha snatched her phone back.

Fareeha observed her phone for any scratches then snorted,”I'm not the one writing songs about my crush.”

The tips of Lena's ears glowed bright red and she threw a pillow at the older woman from her crow's nest.

“S-Shut up!”

Fareeha reached over to Lena's desk and grabbed their lyrics book, flipping to the most recent song. She sat comfortably on the bed underneath Lena and read the verses aloud:

“Sometimes you gotta bleed to know that you're alive and have a soul. But it takes someone to come around to show you how; she's a tear in my heart, I'm alive. She's a tear in my heart, I'm on fire. She's a tear in my heart, take me higher than I've ever been.”

Fareeha suddenly fell silent, reading the rest of the lyrics, and Lena dreadfully waited for her critiques.

“This… Shit, this is actually really good. Lena, this is about Amelie?”

Lena hesitated before she said,”Ye...ah?”

Fareeha immediately rolled out of bed and shoved the book in her face.

“We have to record and upload this right now.” she said, her eyes showing a familiar, determined glint.

“Love, those are just the lyrics and some chords-”

“I can figure out a beat and other shit. Let's get to the closest recording studio, now.” Fareeha insisted.

Lena stared at her. The Amari was more stubborn than anyone she has ever met and she knew her friend would be relentless in her request.

“How ‘bout, first, we go over it once or twice together and maybe -- Maybe! Tomorrow we can head over to Lucio and Hana to get it recorded, deal?”

“Lit.” Fareeha grinned,”We should play it at Jack’s, too!”

“You honestly think that it's that good of a song? What if it flunks on YouTube?” Lena asked skeptically as she climbed down from the bed. She tossed herself onto her bean bag and opened the book again, going over the lyrics self-consciously.

“All those verses and words? They came from the heart.” Fareeha smiled gently, patting her breast gently,”They'll love it. How about I-”

“Fareeha, I already don't like it.” Lena squinted at her. She chuckled and lightly punched her.

“I'll get Angela two tickets and backstage passes for herself and Amelie, then, for the last song, we get Amelie onstage and you sing her the song.”

“But she'll know it's me!” Lena exclaimed.

“Unless you pull your mask off like some giddy Brit-fuck.” Fareeha argued,”No one can ever guess that Lena Oxton, some engineer major and track team star, is Tracer, a singer and one half of Phracer.”

Lena hummed suspiciously,”Alright, alright. I get the point.”

Fareeha glanced at the time on her phone before pocketing it.

“Just don't worry so much and it'll be okay.” Fareeha reassured her,”Phracer can only get bigger, after all.”

“Alright, alright. I'll see you around, Fareeha. Tell Angela I said hi.” Lena teased as she left. Fareeha frowned and huffed in mock anger before stalking out of the dorm room.

\---

Angela sighed heavily and scooted off the couch. She tried to stretch her legs far enough to rest on the coffee table before her. Amelie’s legs were already comfortably settled on the edge of it and grinned behind her mug of coffee while she watched the prodigy struggle.

“Amelie.”

“Yes, Dr. Ziegler?”

“I'm tired.”

“I know, cherie.”

They shared a moment of silence.

“You think I can ask Zarya to bench press me to the moon?”

Amelie set her cup down and elbowed her gently,”You may, but Fareeha will be quite lonely. She'll have one less person to call ‘my cutie angel’.”

Angela suddenly stood up from the sofa and retreated to the kitchen of their shared dorm.

“How'd you even-? I changed the password to my phone!” she whimpered helplessly.

“Mmhm, but Lena just so happened to have gotten into Fareeha’s phone. You two are sickeningly sweet.” Amelie stared at her empty mug before adding,”But… It's been a while since I last saw Fareeha this happy.”

“Anyway!” Angela said, abruptly clapping her hands together,”Are you busy next week? Friday, maybe?”

“Depends. What're we gonna do?” Amelie stretched her head over the couch to look at her.

Angela casually sauntered towards her friend and leaned over the couch next to Amelie. She produced two concert tickets and Amelie stiffened; she recognized the logo almost immediately.

“I just so happen to have an extra ticket to Phracer next Friday down at Jack's.”

“How'd you get these?!” Amelie held the tickets like they were made of porcelain,”I tried getting some but the venue was private and the tickets were expensive and-”

“None of that stuff matters, are you down to go?” Angela asked in a sing-song voice. Amelie faced her sharply, her eyes narrowed slightly.

“I'm not busy Friday.” Amelie said.

Angela smiled and dropped a lanyard onto her lap. A backstage pass.

“Oh, and I got these, too.”

Amelie looked up at the blonde with teary eyes and asked in a small voice,”Are you an angel?”

The prodigy shrugged and sat next to her friend.

“Just a woman with connections.” she winked as she attempted to kick her feet up against the table again.

\---

Amelie barreled into Angela’s study room. The prodigy sighed without looking up from her thick anatomy textbooks and readjusted her glasses.

“I reserved this room for individual study time, if you need my help I'm afraid I'm busy at-”

“Angela, they just dropped a new song and it already has over 20 million views.” Amelie said in a low voice.

Angela turned and squinted behind her glasses at her friend.

“Phracer?” she didn't expect Lena would let Fareeha record and upload the song that quickly on such a short notice.

“It's just a lyric video, but it's official and everything. I can't believe they'd just drop one with no notice, all Tracer tweeted out was ‘This one goes to a special girl’ and a link and - oh my God do you think they'll play it tonight - ”

Angela suddenly reached out and held Amelie’s hand in her own.

“Amelie. Breathe, schatz.”

“Sorry, sorry, you're busy I'm just gonna…” she stood slowly and pocketed her phone.

Angela smiled and squeezed her friend’s hand before she could exit.

“You should go find Lena, I bet she's as all over this band as you are.”

Amelie frowned,”I'm not about to throw my reputation out on the street like that.”

Angela waved her hand around and made a face,”What reputation? You may act like such a hard ass but Lena can see through it like crystal.”

The French woman crossed her arms and huffed adamantly.

“I'll see you tonight. Maybe I'll just check in on Lena.” Amelie said and headed for the exit.

“Try not to look too excited.” Angela mocked. Amelie just rolled her eyes and left.

\---

Lena jumped up and down as she tried to calm her nerves before getting onstage. Fareeha twirled around her worn drum sticks and watched Lena hop around helplessly. They both could hear the already growing crowd behind the thin walls of their backstage room.

"Man, just watching you hop around like that is making me more anxious." Fareeha groaned as Lena just waved around a hand to dismiss her.

Jack came in and threw them a cool water bottle each.

“Hey, Mr. Morr- Jack. Thanks again for letting us play tonight.” Lena said as she twisted the cap off the bottle and downing the drink is one gulp.

The man shook his head and smiled,”It's no problem, girls. Gabe loves the music anyway so the pleasures all mine.”

“Sap.” Fareeha taunted.

“Hypocrite.” Jack threw back with a smirk before cackling when Fareeha slid her mask down to cover her burning cheeks.

“You guys’ll do great out there, just don't hype yourselves up too much.” he reassured, laying a wide palm on Lena's shoulder.

With that, he shut the door. Lena slid her aviators back over her eyes and went back to her nervous hopping. They could hear Gaberiel hyping up the crowd which meant that they had just seconds left before they go.

“Ready?” Fareeha asked, slipping her mask over her face to hide her identity. One eye was exposed by a hole cut open on the right side of her face.

Lena cracked her neck and hid the rest of her face behind a bandanna. The felt slid over her nose and down to just underneath her chin. Able to see her own two hands and Fareeha behind her shades, Lena was satisfied.

Her identity well hidden, Lena nodded at her partner,“Let's go.”

They emerged from they're room, masks and bandannas on and hiding their faces. The first persons they see are Angela and Amelie. Lena feels exposed but tugged on her bandanna firmly, reminding herself that she's anonymous under the cloth. She felt confident enough to shyly wave at Amelie and smiled to herself as she waved back enthusiastically. Angela had told her Amelie is a secret Phracer fan but would never admit it to a soul.

Amelie grabbed Angela's arm as the two headed towards the center of the stage. “Angela, holy shit, they just waved at me. Tracer waved at me.”

The blonde grinned fondly and watched as Fareeha casually stretched behind her drum set. She took a mental note of how well defined her lover’s arms were.

Lena followed Fareeha towards their instruments, piano and drums respectively. Lena sat behind the grand piano, her leg bouncing nervously against the hardwood of the stage beneath her.

She gave Jack the ‘okay’ and the curtains pulled away, revealing a small yet loud crowd of screaming fans to greet them. Lena finds her lost confidence among the sea of people and reached for the mic that hung above the piano. She clutched it tightly and looked at the individual faces of the audience.

“You ready to get fucked up?” Lena dared to roar. Her ears rang at the crowds’ response.

“Then let's go!”

Fareeha started first, crashing the drums and Lena sang loudly yet beautifully into the mic and the crowd and Amelie went wild. The beat was solid yet somewhat sullen as Lena played her heart out on the piano, crashing keys and notes. Fareeha struck her drums sharply, her arms raising high and mighty over her head before crashing back down.

The two students were standing by Jack off to the side of the stage, away from the audiences’ sight.

“Angela, Angela, oh my God Angela-”

“With someone as erratic as you, you can't make me believe that this is your first Phracer concert.” Angela smiled at her friend’s excitement. Jack chuckled from behind the control panel.

"That's what I told Gabe the first time they played here!"

As it neared the end of the concert, the songs Lena sang became softer and a little slower. Amelie sang along gently with every song, watching Tracer play the piano with ease as Pharah crash the drums, matching every beat Tracer played. The two were beautifully in synch.

They ended on the last note of the last song, but the crowd begged Lena for another song. The brunette glanced at Fareeha and she nodded with a grin behind the mask.

“I think Pharah's up for another song. What do you guys think?” Lena asked the audience. She got screams and shouts of approval back. Lena raised a fist as the crowd falls silent and said,“This one goes to a girl that's got my heart wrapped around her finger; and I'd like you two up here.”

Lena gestured towards Amelie and Angela.

“Us?” Amelie asked the blonde hesitantly. Jack just pushed them forward and suddenly they're onstage before a crowd of a hundred-some people. The lights are bright and Amelie fely a little dizzy as the stage crew brought out a guitar and three stools for them. Angela scooted back, towards the drums and let Amelie take a seat next to Lena.

“Tracer, hi, uh I…” Amelie started out hesitantly. She was utterly starstruck.

“You alright?” Lena asked softly; Amelie looked like she was about to faint. When she nodded, Lena smiled underneath her guise.

“A little bird told me that you were our number one fan. Is that true?” she swung the mic gently towards her as she looked at her expectantly.

Amelie’s eyes widened slightly and she held the mic,”Phracer is my all-time favorite American band.”

Lena smiled behind her cover,”Then you'll definitely know this one.”

She nodded at Fareeha and the Egyptian pounded the cymbals as Lena strummed.

“Sometimes you gotta bleed to know-” Lena sang out.

“-That you're alive and have a soul.” Amelie completed the verse as if she wrote the song herself.

Lena paused and grinned widely.

“She's got it!” she cheered.

Lena continued with the next line, Amelie singing with her. Amelie felt nauseous as the crowd sang along with them, and the lights shined like the sun in her face. But she sang along softly anyway, trying hard not to appear too excited.

“My heart, is my armor. She's the tear in my heart, she's a carver. She's a butcher with a smile, cut me farther than I've ever been.”

Lena ended the song, letting the last chord ring out. She threw her signature two-finger salute at the crowd before the curtains covered the stage once again.

Angela helped Amelie down from the stage through a sea of excited fans after the French woman got a signature from both Tracer and Pharah. She felt a bit dazed as they made their way towards Angela's car. When Amelie pulled herself into the passenger seat, she brought out her backstage pass to look over the two signatures.

Tracer’s was big and sharp, all in capital letters scrawled messily on one half of the pass. Pharah's was smaller and a little more neat, with a tall, uppercase ‘P’ and neat, cursive ‘harah’.

Half way through the ride home, Angela sleepily asked,”Have fun?”

“I think I'm going to be utterly exhausted tomorrow.”

Angela chuckled softly,”We're getting too old for this…”

“27 isn't old.” Amelie protested, dozing off in her seat already.

“It's closer to 30 than it is to 20.” the blonde said, pulling into the school’s campus.

“I'm willing to bet that Fareeha makes you feel like you're 20.” Amelie remarked, following Angela towards the dormitories. Angela blushed and waved her hand to dismiss the totally incorrect assumption.

Amelie opened her mouth to retort, but Angela unlocked the door to their shared dorm with a satisfying click. Neither of them say another word as Angela literally collapsed on the couch and snored away. Amelie had enough strength to carry herself to bed and throw herself underneath the thin covers. She managed to pull off the lanyard around her neck and looked over the two signatures again.

Satisfied, she hung the pass on her desk lamp before promptly falling asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been trying to make each chapter at least 2,000 words which is actually going a lot better than expected. Hope you guys enjoy this one!

Lena managed to pull herself out of bed into a cool shower and threw on an appropriate outfit for the day. If she hadn't had another tutor session with Amelie, Lena would've been content to attend Winston's class in nothing but boxers and a ratty T-shirt. She ran her hand through wet, brunette locks, trying to give it some sort of style. Pleased, she grabbed her book bag and slung it over her shoulder then slipped on a pair of shoes before leaving. She left the dorm, closing the door slowly instead of slamming it shut like usual. Fareeha was still asleep, a rare sight as the Egyptian’s wake up hour was five in the morning. As Lena pulled out carefully from the room, it was already nearing noon. 

Lena stretched and leisurely began making her way towards the library. She knew Amelie would probably be late as well, as she and Angela didn't leave until midnight last night. 

And as she predicted, their table was empty save for a stray book. Lena took her seat facing the library entrance with an all-knowing smirk. Amelie entered not a moment later and approached their table. She glanced at Lena, who was sitting with her legs kicked up on the desk and a mischievous smirk fixed on her lips. 

Amelie rolled her eyes and took her place before Lena, setting her things onto the table gently.

“You're a little later than usual, love. Did you go out last night?” Lena grinned. She's impressed though, Amelie still looks gorgeous as hell despite being at a concert the night before.

Amelie brushed the Brit’s comment off, ”As if you can talk. You were probably out late as well; I recognize that ‘just out of bed, I'm trying’ outfit.”

Lena stuck her tongue out playfully as Amelie rolled her eyes. The French woman observed her friend carefully, then slowly reached over and gingerly held her face in her hands. Lena couldn’t hold back a surprised gasp as Amelie looked deeply into her eyes.

“You really look… Terrible, though… Lena, are you okay?” she asked gently. The way Amelie’s eyes suddenly soften and hands cup her burning cheeks, Lena almost screamed.

‘Aw fuck,’Lena thought as she felt her face warm up. She pulled away a little too sharply and the crease between Amelie’s brows only deepened.

“Lena, you know you can tell me anything, right?” the French woman consoled. Lena tensed slightly and rubbed the back of her neck, smiling sheepishly. 

“I know, I know. I just, uh, went a little...Too hard last night, y'know?” Lena explained. Amelie eyed her suspiciously before she sighed.

“Very well; you're only so young for so long.” 

“You say that as if you’re centuries older than me.” Lena badgered.

“Cherie, that's because I am.”

“You're only 27!” 

“I'm so old. My bed time is back at 8:30 p.m and my alcohol tolerance has only got weaker. I've got wrinkles, Lena.”

“Don't be like that,” Lena beamed. ”You look beautiful as always, despite being at one hell of a bloody concert last night!”

Amelie suddenly froze, and Lena quickly shut her mouth. She wasn't supposed to know that. Lena laughed lightly and before Amelie could say anything, she suddenly asked,”Anyway, are you busy the day after tomorrow, love?”

Amelie’s brow furrowed before hesitantly answering,”Will there be alcohol involved?”

Lena shrugged,”Depends. I dunno if it's your sort of kink, but there's an open mic night over at Ana’s café.”

Amelie contemplated the proposal, then Lena added,”I'll treat you. A little bird told me that you're a fan of Earl Grey tea.”

The older woman gave an over exaggerated exhale and threw her hands up in mock surrender.

“You got yourself a date, Oxton.”

Lena pumped her fist and grinned broadly. 

“Sweet! I'll come over around 4?”

Amelie nodded,”I'll have no problem with that, however-”

Lena visibly shrank and Amelie couldn't help but smirk.

“-The quiz you have tomorrow, you must at least get a B.”

“B?” Lena whined. Amelie nodded an affirmative. The brunette mulled the deal over before sighing.

“Well, at least I get a hot date.” Lena said wryly and reluctantly reached into her bag to bring out her French dictionary.

\---

Lena hummed to herself as she made her way to Amelie’s dorm, her guitar slung over her shoulder and the instrument flush against her back. The elevator dinged gently as Lena stepped off, looking for the correct room number. Amelie had regretted bunking with Angela all those years ago, she could’ve been living peacefully alone in some apartment not too far away from the university. How Angela convinced her to stay with her was a mystery to Lena until Amelie had told her the story through gritted teeth. The prodigy had won her over as their room would be closest to the laundry area. However, what the blonde hadn’t told her new roommate was that their room number was 69. Amelie nearly threw Angela off their balcony when Amelie first moved in. The soon-to-be-doctor was in stitches for weeks when Amelie would look at the mere room number like a damnation from Satan himself.

Lena rapped her knuckles against the door to Amelie and Angela's dorm room and waited patiently for an answer. As Amelie opened the door, Lena pulled her guitar out from under her arm and began to strum gently.

“You're date has arrived.” she sang out gently, grinning when Amelie rolled her eyes and adjusted her coat.

“Charming,” she noted then glanced at her phone,”And on time, I feel honored to witness such an occasion.”

Lena saluted with a toothy grin,”It’s all in a day’s work, love!”

She held her arm out for her friend after swinging her guitar back under her arm. “Shall we?”

Amelie hooked her arm through Lena's, albeit a little hesitantly. She let her lead them through the dorms.

“Do you plan on playing at Ana's?” she asked as they descended through the lift. Lena nodded.

“I learned some Phracer song.” she said.

Amelie hummed,”They're very popular. I don't know anyone that doesn't like them.”

Lena waggled her brow at her as they left the university. 

“Oh? Is Amelie, cold and badass, a fan of Phracer, a mainstream band? I always thought punk or indie stuff was more your kink. Or is it both?”

Amelie raised a brow in return and fondly asked,”You think I'm badass?”

The tips of Lena's ears glowed bright red as she sputtered out a weak,”Whatever.”

Amelie chuckled lightly and nudged her friend affectionately,”I'm glad at least one person thinks so. Even if that person happens to be you.”

They crossed the street towards the café that was already full of other students and customers. The cafe had always been popular among local artists, with Ana frequently displaying different pieces in different styles by different artists every week. With the variety in the art ranging from fanart from videogames to still life drawings done by hand to portraits of different celebrities, it always felt like a different place every week when Ana would redecorate the walls. She had displayed them there for her customers to observe and be inspired, and, hopefully, to even buy. Though, the biggest buyer would always be the Amari herself. 

The tiny building sat between a large office and a veterinary clinic. Anyone that wasn’t already familiar with the cafe would easily have passed by it, had it not been for the delicious smells wafting from inside and bright neon signs constantly flashing. The open sign at the cafe entrance glowed obnoxiously bright neon shades of pink and blue. As the two walked in, among the crowd they spotted Angela sitting near the stage at a table with Fareeha, who waved at them. 

“Lena thinks I'm badass.” Amelie first said as they took their seat by the couple and Lena whined.

“Fuck off.” she grumbled and sat next to Fareeha, Amelie next to Angela. 

“You plan on doing any slam poetry tonight?” Angela nudged Amelie. The French woman rolled her eyes.

“Please, I only came because Lena promised me that she was paying.” she gestured vaguely at the Brit who was busy whacking Fareeha with a stirring straw for another quip she made.

Fareeha turned to the brunette with a sweet smile and doting eyes,”Are you gonna pay for us too?”

Lena snorted and jabbed her friend’s side. “You wish Amari. Maybe if you washed the dishes for your mum for once, maybe she'll think about giving you a cup on the house.” 

“I second that!” 

From behind the counter of the café emerged Ana Amari herself in all her glory. She placed a mug of Earl Grey tea on the table for Amelie, and a blueberry muffin for Angela before pulling a chair up to their table. Fareeha frowned as her mother lightly flicked her ear as she passed by.

“I see you are not alone this time, Lena.” the older Amari teased, looking over at Amelie. The French woman suddenly felt very small under the old woman’s judgemental eye.

“Why am I being attacked?” the Brit complained, pulling her guitar into her lap to hide behind the body.

“Just making fun,” Ana smiled and rested a hand on her shoulder,”Mostly because you chose Jack over me the other night!”

The group suddenly fell silent, and Ana's one good eye widened slightly. 

“Ah, I see now,” she casually said, glancing over at Amelie who looked back with confusion. Before she could ask, Ana interjected, ”Anyway, Lena you're playing for us again?”

“Aw love, are you implying that you don't enjoy my playing?” Lena asked with a mock sullen frown. 

“Well, I do like it more than Fareeha’s drumming. Did I ever tell you that when she was younger, I’d say just about 14-”

“Lena!” Fareeha swiftly said, pushing her towards the stage onto a stool,”I think you're up!”

Lena squinted through the bright stage light and focused on the crowd of familiar faces before her. Mostly college students of all years that either looked up at her expectantly or down at their phones with pretend interest. She tapped the mic experimentally before leaning forward and nodding towards Ana.

“Ana, you've gotta tell me the rest of that story later.” Lena taunted as Fareeha grimaced. Ana gave her a wicked grin and a thumbs up.

“Anyway, loves, I've been trying to get this one song down that you're probably gonna recognize. House of Gold by Phracer.”

Lena plucked each string, listening for any out of tune notes, before securely placing a capo on the neck and strummed delicately. She adjusted herself in her seat and strummed the first chord.

“She asked me,’Son, when I grow old, will you buy me a house of gold? And when you're father turns to stone, will you take care of me?’”

As Angela stuffed her face with the muffin, Amelie leaned over a whispered,”Lena sounds a lot like Tracer, doesn't she?”

Fareeha stopped reaching at the pastry and tensed slightly. She shared a knowing look with Angela.

“She… Does doesn't she?” Fareeha asked, clearing her throat.

“I mean, if there's anyone that loves Phracer more than you, it's Lena.” Angela added. Amelie was unimpressed by the gibe but ignored it in favor of listening to Lena and rested her head on the palm of her hand.

“It's practically identical.” Amelie said softly, listening intently to Lena's singing.

“Let's say we up and left this town, and turn our future upside down. I will plan to be a bum so I just might become someone!”

Lena strummed a little more aggressively, singing louder and rowdier but had a sense of such emotion and passion Amelie couldn’t describe in either English or French. Each note more heavy than the last and the guitar rang loudly at each strum. She ended the song and looked up at their table expectantly. Amelie stared in awe and Lena timidly smiled back. Lena dared to throw Tracer’s trademark salute before she descended the stairs as the crowd chuckled at her mock salute. After Lena, a girl got on stage and sang a much softer tune than Lena's. The brunette made her way back to table and set her guitar gently against the table. 

“Whatchya’ think of that, love?” she asked expectantly, looking up at Amelie.

“You… Sound a lot like Tracer.” Amelie said thoughtfully. 

“Do I? I think that's a compliment. Thanks!” Lena played along smoothly,“Got any requests?” 

She nudged her friend. Amelie rolled her eyes.

“Do you know ‘Silence for 15 Minutes’?” 

“You know you love me.” 

Amelie gave her an amused look,”As much as I love another cup of free tea.” 

They stayed at the café until the sun sat comfortably just above the horizon. By then, most guests had already left and Ana and Fareeha had put the chairs on tables. As the sun set and gave way to the rising moon, Amelie and Lena finally took their leave, waving at the couple and old woman.

The two walked side by side in comfortable silence, the streetlights and moon lighting their way back towards the school. 

“Thanks for coming with me tonight.” Lena said nonchalantly as they turned the street corner. Amelie reached for Lena's hand, squeezing lightly, as they approached the school.

“Any time, Lena. I didn't really have any plans tonight, anyway,” she tugged on the lapel of her coat,”You, Angela, and Fareeha are the only people I really hang out with outside of school. No one else wants to hang with some old woman like me.”

Lena squeezed her hand back and nudged her shoulder with her head gently.

“Well, if it means anything to you, I think you're great to be around.” 

Amelie looked at her companion with a warm smile,”You can be such a sap sometimes.”

“You have no idea, love.” Lena said as the walked towards the dorms, fingers laced together gently. The continued in silence as they passed the front desk and into the elevator that led to the dormitories above.

As they stopped outside of Amelie and Angela's dorm room, Lena looked up at her friend. Her friend that was a huge, closet fan of Phracer. Her friend who thinks the world of friends but not herself. Who, despite her attitude and aloof front, actually had a heart of gold and a really sweet personality.

“Have a nice weekend, Amelie.” Lena said.

Amelie briefly pondered the statement before smiling benignly down at her. “You too, Lena.”

After Amelie had shut the door, Lena stood there for a moment imagining what she would've done had she been a little braver. Deciding that some other reality where Brave Lena existed would’ve been slapped anyway, Lena turned and walked down the hall towards her own dorm while whistling the tune of a nameless song.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a warning cus there some substance abuse and homophobia around the middle. This is as angsty as this fic is gonna get

Fareeha left Lucio’s music shop, waving at the man fondly before shutting the door. She had broken one of her drum sticks in half last night after the concert went a little out of hand. In a fit of excitement during a solo, she had thrown the other one, that wasn't broken, into the audience and continued playing with the broken halves. Lena’s singing and the growing rowdiness of the crowd nearly turned the concert into a wild riot. 

She observed the tight bandages on her hands fondly; she had gotten sprinters stuck deep in her palm from the broken drumstick while playing. The blonde was especially unamused when Fareeha came to her and revealed her bloody hands with an abashed half-smile. Angela had to individually pull out each fragment and bandage the cuts. She made sure each splinter she pulled out was incredibly painful for the Egyptian.

Fareeha continued her afternoon stroll around the city, enjoying the warmer weather as summer approached and the comforting heat of the setting sun on her brow. As she walked past a crowded Starbucks, she spotted Amelie sitting alone at a table inside. Her eyes were downcast, looking into the cup of tea before her, and her shoulders stiff underneath her coat. The Egyptian frowned and walked in, easing past other customers and busy baristas. Amelie and Lena were supposed to be having a tutor session right now.

She managed to shoulder pass a couple of tweens who decided being in the way was more convenient. Fareeha took a seat across from the woman before greeting her dazed friend,”Hey.”

Amelie looked up from her cup, as if startled by the sudden greeting. She straightened and met the Egyptian’s sharp eyes.

“Ah, hello, Fareeha.” she said coolly then fell silent once again staring into her cup.

“You alright?” she asked, shedding her coat and setting it on the backrest of the chair. ”Lena didn't show up?”

Amelie’s brows creased and checked her phone. No texts nor any missed calls.

“I waited there for an hour and she never showed up. She didn't text nor call me either to cancel,” she looked up at Fareeha,”Is she okay?”

Fareeha felt concern beginning to ebb away at the back of her mind as she bit her lip,”Fuck, I assumed she was just asleep. I spent the night at Angela's and when I tried getting into our dorm this morning, no one answered so I assumed she was just super tired from last night. I haven't checked up on her since because I know she had classes and your tutoring today.”

Amelie’s grip tightened slightly and hunched shoulders. 

“I'm really worried about her.” she admitted. “She’s so obnoxiously talkative and loud but, my God, I hate it when she just suddenly falls… Quiet.”

Fareeha nodded. “Amelie, you can go check up on her if you'd like. She should be up right now. I think she'd be more willing to answer to you than me.”

“You're her best friend though.” Amelie argued. “It’s not my place to intrude.”

”You're easier to talk to,” Fareeha countered. ”And believe me, you're as much of a friend to her as I am.”

The older woman visibly sighed and shrugged on her bag. ”Very well. I'll go see if she's okay. Knowing her, she probably just caught a cold and is trying to fight it off on her own.”

They both hoped for the best as Amelie stood and gathered her belongings. 

Fareeha chuckled dryly,”Text me updates.”

“Will do, Captain.”

\---

That evening, Amelie made her way towards Lena and Fareeha’s dorm room. Amelie stood outside the dorm then raised her hand and knocked carefully. No answer. She knocked a little harder, sharper. Definitely loud enough for anyone inside or out to hear very clearly. No answer still.

“Lena Oxton, I know you're in there.” she said sternly. ”Why didn't you show up to our tutor session?”

A weak,“‘Melie?” rumbled from behind the door. Amelie heard a soft click of the door unlocking and she calmly pushed it open. The door creaked open slowly, revealing absolute pitch black darkness. She noticed the curtains were drawn and the lights were switched off as she walked in, gently shutting the door behind her. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she saw a lump of sheets on the ground.

“Lena, what the fuck.” she said. The lump shuffled and a head of brunette locks emerged. Lena peeked from underneath the sheets and squinted through the dimness.

“Amelie!” she crooned softly before slowly retreating back under the covers. Amelie rolled her eyes and reached to pull back the covers.

“Lena, you had Fareeha and me worried sick, why-”

She tugged the blanket off her and revealed a disheveled Lena laying on the carpet among empty bottles of beer. The smell was absolutely repugnant and Amelie nearly threw the covers back onto her. She probably would have if she didn’t care so much. Amelie slung Lena’s arm over her shoulder and stood up.

“Come here, you mess.” she whispered and helped her onto the bottom bunk bed. Lena leaned on her heavily as they sat there in the dark in silence.

“Lena… What happened last night?” Amelie asked softly. The Brit didn't answer and instead mumbled something inaudible.

“What?”

“I'unno. Can't remember.” she slurred. Her foot kicked an empty bottle, wincing at the slightest sound it made as it hit another bottle.

“Lena… Please talk to me.” 

“Bout what?”

“Anything.” Amelie urged and held her tighter. “Lena, whatever’s bothering you, I can help you. I want to help you.”

Lena sniffled underneath her arm as she roughly scrubbed away tears budding along her eyelids with the back of her hand,”That's the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me.”

They sat there in silence and Lena began to sob loudly in the dark. Amelie just gave her a breif squeeze, suddenly feeling powerless for being unable to help Lena. Emotional turmoil was never her strong suit anyway. Emotions are dumb.

“I k-keep thinking about my mum. And school. And you. And Fareeha and Angela and Ana and Gabe and Jack and Winston...”

Amelie reached into her bag and fished out some tissues, holding it up to the girl's face. At least she can do one thing right. Lena let her wipe away her tears as she continued speaking gently.

“Everyone hated me just because I was gay; middle school was bad, but high school was even worse. They all made fun of me just because I liked girls. Girls are so much better than guys anyway! I don't know why they make it seem like being a lesbian was such a bad thing.” Lena cried. Amelie rubbed her back gently, letting her rant aloud.

“Then Natalie went and told everyone I tried forcing her to be my girlfriend. I didn't force her to do anything! All I did was tell her that I loved her!” 

Lena sobbed harder and began to get hiccups from crying. Amelie just held her. She could only imagine the sort of things Lena would think of when she was by herself, let alone drunk.

“I'm so sorry, Lena.” she said helplessly, trying to comfort her and calm the hiccups. Lena cried into Amelie’s chest, staining the older woman’s shirt but she could care less as Lena whimpered.

Amelie had already known all of this, when Lena was much more sober. They were to sitting together at some party neither of them were really enjoying and Lena just started talking, trying to start up some sort of conversation. As the night went on, they discussed deeper topics about their lives and family and such. Amelie had listened intently to Lena’s seemingly indifferent retelling of her rough beginnings. But Amelie knew that it bothered Lena more than she made it seem. 

The brunette sniffled and continued in a hoarse voice.

“When m-my mum found out, she kicked me out of the house. Literally. She just came storming into my room and started shoving all my things into a trash bag. I still remember her just busting the door open, she was absolutely furious. She screamed and shrieked and yelled at me and threw my things into the street, not giving a single damn. She just didn't care anymore, she just wanted me out of her damned house.” she began to speak more harshly. ”She didn't want a gay daughter. She's always cryin’ that she just wanted a ‘normal’ kid to her sister. That she wished that her family could be fucking normal for once. How fucked up is that? She makes it so hard for me to give her any ounce of respect.”

“You don’t have to, Lena.” Amelie muttered, thinking of all the ways she could confront Lena’s mother. “I know it’s not my place to be saying this, but just because she birthed you doesn’t mean you’re obligated to respect her. She’s a horrid woman.”

Lena shook her head and shut her eyes, refusing to let any tears escape. She clutched the front of Amelie’s shirt, trying to fight off another heart wrenching sob. “I-I can’t do that yet, love. I-I’m not strong enough yet.”

When Lena managed to calm slightly, she sat up and wiped her nose on her sleeve,”Ana was nice enough to let me stay with her, even though she already had enough on her plate with Fareeha and all. So I helped her with the café. But she was always tellin’ me I didn't have to, but I did anyway. I just wanted to.”

Lena smiled weakly when thoughts of Ana flooded her head,”Ana didn't care that I was gay. She loved me like I was her own daughter. She loved me in a way my own mum would never even try to do.”

Lena laid down against the bed and yawned as Amelie pulled the blanket over her. The Brit continued to speak as Amelie cleaned up the empty bottles and cartons scattered on the ground, putting them together in a neat pile to be taken care of in the morning. 

“I'm just so lucky aren't I? To still go to school and have friends that don't care about who or what I like. To meet someone like you.” Lena murmured at Amelie. The French woman smiled and sat back down on the bed. She let a hand rest on Lena’s leg and patted her fondly.

“Get some rest, Lena. I'll get Fareeha to bring you water and some Advil; you're going to have a terrible headache tomorrow.” 

But as she stood, Lena sat up quickly and grabbed her wrist.

“Don't leave yet,” she garbled. ”Not yet, please. I don't wanna sleep alone. I don't wanna be alone again.”

Amelie froze and held her hand tightly.

“As long as I'm around, you'll never be alone again.” she promised. It seemed that she said the right thing because Lena trusted her enough to let go and lay back down on the bed.

“I love you, Amelie.” the brunette confessed quietly. 

‘Platonically.’ the thought suddenly pierced Amelie’s thoughts like an arrow shot from a taut bow. ’Platonically.’

“I love you, too, Lena.” Amelie said a little uncomfortably. Just to placate the brunette. 

“And Fareeha and Angela and Winston and Jack and Reyes and Ana and everyone else. But not as much as I love you.” Lena rambled drunkenly, her voice getting softer and softer as she succumbed to waves of exhaustion beating against her head.

After a minute of sitting there, Lena was already snoring and Amelie watched her face relax. The stress and pain lifted from her creased brows and tightly shut eyes. Nothing but the sweet relief of sleep and peace engulfed the brunette. When she was sure Lena wouldn't wake up, Amelie stood slowly and creept towards the door. She glanced over her shoulder again to look at her before closing the door behind her.

\---

Amelie arrived at her own dorm, unlocking the door with a key. Angela was sitting there with Fareeha watching a movie together. Amelie scrunched her nose when she recognized the cartoon. That Disney movie, Lady and The Tramp. 

“Welcome home.” Angela said without looking up from the screen as Amelie set her things down on the dinner table by the door. She took her seat next to the couple and watched the movie with a neutral gaze.

“You guys a gross.” she said, raising her feet to rest against the coffee table. Angela stuck her tongue out at her roommate and fed herself a handful of popcorn. When Amelie reached over, Angela pulled the bowl away, laughing haughtily as her friend scowled. Fareeha managed to reach over them and grab the remote without peeling her eyes off the screen.

“How's Lena by the way?” Fareeha asked, pausing the movie with a single click. Amelie shrugged solemnly, her lighthearted mood immediately fell at the mention of the brunette.

“Drunk. She somehow snuck in a lot of alcohol and has been drinking all night. She'll be alright though. I got her tucked in bed.” Amelie sighed softly.

Angela sat up and looked at her,”Why was she drinking?”

“She was talking about high school and her mother.” Amelie bowed her head slightly, feeling guilt gnaw at her,”I assume she spent all day alone just thinking.”

Angela ran a hand through her hair and leaned against Fareeha,”The poor girl.”

The three sat in silence thinking about Lena before Fareeha spoke again, ”She say anything else?”

Amelie’s lips twitched with the ghost of a smile,”She told me that she loved me and you two and everyone.”

Fareeha and Angela shared a knowing look which Amelie caught easily. Angela opened her mouth to speak but Amelie interjected before she could add anything.

“Guys… I can't.” she interrupted. “You know I can’t.”

“And we know, Amelie. But Lena really is in love with you.” Fareeha said. “I’m just saying that you shouldn’t treat it like a grain of salt.”

“Platonically and romantically.” Angela added. “Maybe if you-”

“I cannot.” Amelie snapped and Angela retreated back behind Fareeha as the French woman stood and stalked towards her room. But she stopped at the door and glanced the the two again.

“I'm just not letting my guard down again.” she said, her tone much gentler than earlier. Fareeha suddenly snapped her head at her, her eyes narrowed and brows arched. Amelie could feel her gaze bore a hole between her brows. 

“Lena's not like him,”Fareeha said firmly, as if the comparison was an insult. ”We're not telling you to be with her, but don't you dare compare her to him.”

Amelie stiffened slightly and decided it was better to hold her tongue and go to bed than to snarkily retort. As she laid in bed in silence, she thought of Lena again. Amelie wouldn't dare to let herself open up so much to a person like that ever again, but Lena definitely was different. She was softer and sweeter and kinder and so much more caring. She was everything he wasn't or could ever be. 

Amelie closed her eyes and listened to the quietness embracing her. Her last thought before falling asleep was,’Lena loves me.’


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks btw for all the kudos and comments, always motivates me to write, edit, and post everything. Hope you guys read my other shit too! I'll be posting more Overwatch fics and hopefully more multichapter AUs!

“I shouldn't have done that.” Lena said to herself. She sat alone in her dorm room, sitting on her bean bag and strumming her guitar in her lap. 

Morning had showed up and taken its leave by the time Lena woke up with a cracking headache. She thanked whatever God that Fareeha remembered to get her a glass of water and painkillers. It was Saturday and the Brit was more than content to stay in her dorm all morning to avoid running into Amelie at all costs. But she had a tutor session with Amelie and Lena was sure that the last thing either of them wanted was to see each other.

Lena pulled herself up and sat up straight, sinking into the bean bag. She pulled at the strings of the instrument.

“The fuck am I gonna do?” she asked her guitar and hoped some sort of escape plan would strike her, but she only got deafening silence back. She set the instrument back on its stand then glanced at her phone to read the time before pocketing it with a sigh. 

She had five minutes until her French tutoring with Amelie started. 

She managed to haul herself off the bean bag and into a pair of somewhat clean jeans before leaving the dormitories and towards the library. She almost regretted forcing on a pair of jeans as the sun shined on mercilessly upon her brow. The weather was getting warmer and the sun was setting later, which meant the school semester was starting to reach its end. 

Lena’s body already ached at the thought of having to pack and move everything back to Ana’s for summer break. But being back home and having Ana’s breakfast every morning made the move worth the effort.

As she approached the library, she couldn't help but feel dread suddenly creep up her back and rest like weights around her shoulders. What if Amelie never wanted to see her again? What if she just shattered their friendship? What if Lena just lost one of her closest friends because of her dumb mistake? The thoughts overwhelmed her and the only thing Lena could tell herself was “Breathe.”

She caught sight of her reflection in the glass window of the library door. Her eyes were slightly red from crying from the night before and her unshowered hair was messier than usual. Maybe if she looked shitty enough, Amelie just might not recognize her and skip out on tutoring.

Lena focused past her face and into the interior of the building, trying to look for their table. When she spotted it, it was empty and her shoulders fell when she realized Amelie probably wasn't going to come. She turned to go back to her dorm but suddenly came face to face with Amelie.

“Hey.” Lena was the first to speak, her voice faltering slightly. She cleared her throat to fill the awkward silence.

“Hello, Lena.” Amelie said, her voice monotonous. They both fell silent again.

“Thanks for coming last night,” Lena rubbed the back of her neck. ”I really needed the company.”

“I should have just sent Fareeha.” Amelie confessed quietly but just loud enough for Lena to hear. 

Lena felt her heart sink and bowed her head, tearing her eyes away from Amelie’s. She was absolutely positive anything between them was now in ruins.

“I was just gonna come by and tell you that I don't think I can come in for tutoring,” Lena lied, making sure Amelie didn’t see her way her eyes tearing up. ”I've got a splitting headache. Hangovers, am I right?”

And before Amelie could say anything else, Lena pushed her aside and quickly made her way back to her dorm, never casting a single glance over her shoulder as she ran.

Amelie watched her go and her grip on her bag tightened. She no longer needed to go to a library if Lena was calling off their tutoring. So Amelie turned and headed towards Ana's for a cup of tea. 

The walk to was quiet and wildly uneventful. She never noticed how empty the campus was, especially on a weekend, when she crossed it to reach the coffeehouse. Even more so when she was on the main street. It always felt more lively maybe even crowded, but with summer approaching and testing almost over, most students were out and celebrating graduation with friends as far away from school as they could possibly get on a budget.

When she arrived, she sat at the counter of the café that was empty except for Ana and a single waitress who was wiping down tables. The walls for this week were decorated with various portraits of different breeds of dogs in neon paint. Ana had already claimed at least three paintings.

Ana greeted her with a smile from behind the counter,”How is my favorite customer?”

Amelie forced a smile back,”I'm alright, Ana. Thank you.”

“Earl Grey?”

“Please.”

Ana quickly fixed her a cup and Amelie nursed the tea quietly, slipping Ana a five dollar bill. She kindly refused it.

“Something tells me that you need it. What is going on in that mind of yours, child?” the old Amari asked.

Amelie sighed and fingered the tag on the tea bag sitting in her mug. 

“Lena got herself drunk last night and confessed that she loves me. But, Ana... I let myself get hurt last time and I don't think I’m ready yet and especially after...” her voice faltered slightly, hoping Ana would understand.

“I know, I know,”Ana sighed heavily,”I know exactly how you feel.”

Amelie quirked a curious brow. “There better be some context or I’m going to be mad.”

“I never fail to disappoint!” Ana smirked before leaning on the counter.

“Fareeha’s father--my late husband--was a pilot. We served together. That was how I met and fell in love with him,” Ana smiled fondly at the memory. ”He went MIA just a week after Fareeha was born so, of course, she does not really remember him.”

The old woman suddenly fell silent and her smile quickly fell.

“Then I did the worst thing any mother could ever do. I abandoned her, for a decade or so. I did not want her to become inspired to serve in the army like every Amari before her did, so I gave her to my sister to care for while I served the rest of my time for the EAF.” 

Ana sighed heavily, and gripped her scarf. ”My poor Fareeha would not forgive me for leaving her alone all her childhood. She was only 12 and she had already renounced me as her mother.”

“It took some time and effort and eventually she had called me mom for the first time when she was trying to look for her drum sticks, when she was about 19 or 20,” Ana couldn't help but grin,”I still remember the shock from her eyes as we looked at each other and neither of us could stop our tears. We just held each other, then she told me that she loved me for a first time in her life.”

Ana reached for Amelie’s empty cup and refilled it with steaming hot water. With her back turned to her, Ana continued softly.

“You see, Amelie, love takes time and love takes work. If you are not ready to love Lena back, she will understand. Because that is what love is. Patience.”

Ana turned and set the mug before Amelie before smiling wickedly,”Had I not loved Fareeha, I would have easily stopped caring!”

Amelie stared at her new cup of tea and stared at her reflection in the small mug.

“I can only hope to be as wise as you when I'm older, Ana.” Amelie said quietly. The older Amari laughed lightly and rested a hand on her shoulder.

“Enjoy being young while you still can, Amelie!” she grinned,”You'll be missing the way you look now by the time you’re my age.”

Amelie smiled back, feeling much less tense than before; that was the sort of effect Ana had with people. Making them feel right at home with a mug of a hot beverage and old but fond memories.

“Please, Ana, you don't look a day over 40.”

“Well, I just got lucky.”

The two sat in comfortable silence, listening to the smooth jazz Ana had playing in the background. The old woman looked up at Amelie and grinned wistfully, the tattoo under her eye creasing slightly.

“Just remember that love isn't measured by time nor the actions one does. Rather by how one _chooses_ to show it.” 

Amelie nodded slowly and slid off the stool, placing the cup gently against the counter. She placed the dollar bill beneath the cup against the saucer; if Ana saw it, the bill would somehow show up, back inside her purse.

“Thank you again, Ana. For the tea and...The talk.” 

Ana waved at her as Amelie opened the door to the café to leave.

“Any time.”

\---

Lena sat on the floor of her dorm with her limbs sprawled out as Fareeha watched her from her own bed.

“Lena...I hate to ask this but…,” Fareeha paused to make sure Lena was listening. ”Everyone thinks Phracer is dead. We haven't released any music in a few months and y'know neither of us haven't said anything on social media.”

Lena turned to face Fareeha and curled up.

“I know, love. I've been trying really hard but, ever since, y'know… I can't write when I'm not inspired.” she said, running her hands through her hair in frustration,”Everything I write...It just ends up with me whining and cursing my mum.”

Fareeha sighed and shuffled onto the ground next to Lena. She clasped her hands over her stomach and laid flat against the carpet.

“I know you're frustrated. And I know that you feel like you've messed up-”

“Big time!” Lena disrupted.

“-but you can't just take responsibility for every little thing that happens.”

“I dunno love, maybe if I didn't get myself drunk-”

“Well, maybe if I just went to check up on you instead of Amelie going, things might very been different, too.” Fareeha argued. ”Maybe if I had taken a different route to get back to school, I wouldn't have run into Amelie. Maybe if I didn't break my sticks, I wouldn't have to go to Lucio’s in the first place.”

Fareeha shifted onto her side so she could face her friend.

“Look, Lena, things happened and you're just assuming it went for the worst. I can't think of at least 20 different ways that night could've gone. And whatever happened, it happened.”

Fareeha stood and pulled the brunette up with her,”You gotta pull yourself together. Don't dwell so much on a single night, just… Treat her like you did before.”

Lena shrugged her friend’s hand off her shoulder,”But things are different now. We don't have tutoring as often as we did before, and I can't look at her in the face anymore without feeling guilty-”

“Talk to her. Amelie isn't difficult and she won't act like it's the end of the world all because you love her,” Fareeha made eye contact with the Brit, ”She's not like that, and you of all people should know that.”

Lena's shoulders sagged and she sighed.

“Aw maybe you're right. I'll talk to her. Sometime.”

Fareeha smiled, satisfied, and gently tugged on her friend's shirt.

“Just take baby steps. Take your time with it, but don’t delay it for so long that you and her become strangers.”

As Lena stood, Fareeha waved a coupon in her face.

“C'mon, get into something more presentable and I'll treat you to a cup of Reyes’ hot chocolate.” she offered. Lena gave her a small smile in return.

“Sounds like a deal.”

\---

Amelie came into her dorm to the sound of Angela grunting uncharastically loudly. 

“You better not be having sex.” Amelie called out, shielding her eyes as she walked into the dorm. When she heard Angela laugh, she knew it was safe enough to let her arm down. Angela was trying to move the couch against the wall, but was having immense difficulty doing so. Her feet were firmly planted against the carpet floor and her back was pressed flush against the front of the sofa as she pushed backwards.

“I’m trying to redecorate a little before school ends.” the prodigy explained, her cheeks red and slightly puffed outwards. She swore to herself and walked around the sofa then attempted to pull it. Amelie smirked but came over towards her and pushed the couch as Angela pulled.

“Why didn’t you just call Fareeha?” she asked when they finally got the couch to where Angela demanded. The blonde shrugged.

“She and Lena are busy at Lucio’s.” 

She collapsed on the couch and Amelie went into the kitchen to fix herself some tea.

“You’re in a better mood, though. Where’d you go?”

Amelie settled down next to her friend and sipped the tea quietly. 

“I just went to see Ana. I’m running out of tea boxes.” she lied. Her and Ana have been having more and more meetings and talks. Ana was more than happy to have Amelie over to chat about college, Lena, art, and everything between. Angela seemed to have accepted the excuse and leaned back, flicking on the TV with the push of a button.

“So…” Angela started slowly. “You talk with Lena at all?”

Amelie visibly stiffened but relaxed almost instantly when Angela looked up at her.

“I did.” she said smoothly. “We had a tutor session today but she said she wasn’t feeling well.”

Angela knew she was lying but didn’t dare question it. Since that night, their tutor sessions have become rarer, from tri weekly meet ups to weekly to eventually once every other week.

“Amelie, can I say something?”

“Feel free.”

“Lena’s still your friend right?”

Amelie looked at her incredulously,”Of course. Lena’s one of my closest friends.”

Angela stared the screen but paid no attention to the actual show,”You should make it seem like that.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

Angela groaned,”Cut the bullshit, Amelie. You and Lena would always spend more time than necessary for tutoring.”

“But she said she was unwell.” Amelie pointed out.

“You and I both know that she was lying.”

Amelie set her cup down and Angela decided to back off, mumbling an apology. But Amelie held up an open palm.

“Don’t.” she said softly. “I know what you mean. And I should still be talking to Lena. I just… Don’t know how to anymore. It’s like that night shattered everything we had and we’re back to being strangers and I know I can’t blame her for that night but for God’s sake she could at least make an effort to talk to me too at least.”

“Amelie, she is as afraid of this as you are, believe me.” Angela laid a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “And she’s willing to take this as slow as need be.”

Amelie curled her hand into a tight fist before relaxing it and looking at her palm.

“I’ll try to talk with her over summer break. And let her know that nothing should change between us.” The French woman looked up at her expectantly. “Does that sound appropriate?” 

Angela only smiled and squeezed her shoulder comfortingly,”It’s perfect.”

The shared a brief embrace, to which they both playfully gagged at, before settling on the moved couch together and making fun of a terrible sit com on screen.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the comments and kudos for this short AU. It was nice getting back into writing and I hope to write more in the future! I've already got a few outlines begging to be written out, so I hope you guys stuck around long enough for me to write the first chapter of those.
> 
> Anyway, here's chapter 5, last chapter of Let's Be Legends...

It's the start of a new school year as Lena hauled in the last box of her belongings into a new dorm room that was much bigger and more comfortable than the one she shared with Fareeha last semester. Fareeha collapsed on her bed, stretching and yawning obnoxiously loud like a satisfied cat.

“Love, we're still gonna have to lift it onto the bed frame, y'know.” Lena said as she pulled out her beloved bean bag from a box. She tossed it onto the floor and threw herself onto it with a happy sigh. Fareeha grunted before suddenly lifting the Queen sized mattress and slid it onto the bottom bunk of their shared bunk beds in a single move. Lena's eyes widened and raised an impressed brow.

“You've gotten stronger. It's not for a certain someone, is it?” Lena asked skeptically. Fareeha rolled her eyes and threw a bare pillow at the Brit.

“Fuck off.” she murmured. 

The two laid in silence, slowly adjusting to their newer and bigger dorm room. Fareeha cleared her throat and looked over the bed at Lena.

“Have you...Talked with Amelie at all over break?” Fareeha asked quietly, half hoping that Lena didn't hear her. But half hoping that she did.

“Yeah, actually. We texted.”

“Just texting?”

Lena sat up straight and turned to face Fareeha.

“I mean, we're friends and all now but she sometimes brings up that night y'know and well…”

“...She wants to talk about it, too?” Fareeha finished. Lena nodded.

“I try making up times when we could meet, but she’s gonna be busier this semester and… Well.”

Fareeha rolled off the bed and clasped a hand on her shoulder.

“She'll have the time for you, trust me.”

Lena smiled weakly,”I know she will. I'm just nervous is all.”

“You're one of her best friends. Don't beat yourself up?”

Lena brushed her off with a small smile,”I know, I know. It's just when I talk to pretty girls I get all jittery.”

Fareeha suddenly rolled off the bed and made her way towards the door with a mock-disgusted,”You're gross.”

\---

A solid ring that came from her phone woke Lena. The brunette sat up with a quiet yelp at the loud sound as she scrambled around in the dark to find her phone. She had received a text message.

Amelie: Lena, it's Amelie. Can we meet up? Right now? It's ok if you can't atm

Lena was quick to reply, tapping out a text and hitting send.

Lena: Definitely! Where at?

Amelie: Outside Ana's

Lena glanced at the time before climbing down slowly from her bed to let Fareeha sleep. 

Lena: Omw! I’ll be there soon

She slipped on a pair of shorts and a clean shirt before leaving silently. As she walked down the dark streets, Lena felt her heart race. She knew Amelie wanted to talk, and she knew that it was going to be awkward. They haven't met face to face since the last school semester ended and Lena was nervous to see her. After French ended, they stopped meeting up for tutoring as there was no need to see each other. Admittedly, Lena was upset that she no longer would be able to see Amelie, despite their very rare tutoring sessions. But also relieved, because she wouldn't have to sit through an hour of uncomfortable silence and boring lectures.

By the time she arrived, the sun was beginning to rise, setting the sky ablaze with shades of pink and orange. Lena spotted the café across the street as she rounded the corner. Amelie was there, sitting at a table just outside Ana's café while anxiously glancing at her phone. It was too early for it to be open.

Lena crossed the street and took her seat before her and waved shyly.

“Been a while.” she said softly.

Amelie nodded, before offering a small smile,”Too long.”

“Aw, I'm sorry I haven't been keeping up with you, love,” Lena said, sheepishly,”Life just happened y'know?” 

“I'm sorry, as well. I wish I had spent more time with you.” Amelie politely replied.

After reaffirming their feelings, they sat together in comfortable silence. But Lena didn't want to delay the real reason why Amelie texted her any longer and blurted out,“Look, Amelie, I'm really sorry about that night-”

“And I'm sorry for the day after.” Amelie said, shortly. “You're one of my best friends and I never should have just dismissed you like that.”

Lena looked up at her with wide eyes,”Amelie, love, that was nothing. I'm sorry for ‘fessing up to you like that and then avoiding you like the plague.”

Lena bit her lip and looked down to avoid Amelie’s piercing gaze.

“I never should've left you like that. I was just scared.” the brunette said lowly.

“Of what?”

“You.” Lena paused to let Amelie speak but when she said nothing, she continued,”I was afraid that I'd lose you if I confronted you, and I didn't want to lose my best friend. I love you, Amelie and I regret leaving you like that.” 

She finally looked up and saw Amelie’s golden irises soften slightly.

“As a friend, of course.” Lena added cautiously. Amelie rolled her eyes.

“You idiot.”

Amelie leaned over and placed a soft, wet kiss on her lips. Lena squeaked in surprise and was the first to pull away, her cheeks blushing like mad.

“I spent some time just thinking about you and when we texted over summer, I had the joy of rediscovering you.” Amelie blushed and turned her head to avoid Lena's wide eyes. ”I realized that no matter what I did, you were always by my side. As a friend that loves me. And I'm thankful to have you in my life.”

Amelie finally turned to face her with a smirk,”Even though you were late to every tutor session.”

Lena groaned and hid her face behind her hands in embarassment.

“I was hoping you'd forget that by now.”

Amelie laughed lightly and Lena quickly found herself falling in love all over again.

They talked about school, summer, Fareeha and Angela, and everything in between until the sun rose high over the horizon. Warm colors lit up the sky with a few clouds scattered about and Lena wished she took more time appreciating sunrises. It wasn't until around 7 Ana had finally came by to open up the café, coming down from the upper level of the building.

“You two! What are you doing here at this time of day?” Ana demanded as she unlocked the door to her café. “You will catch a cold if you are out in the cold like this!”

“Just catching up.” Lena grinned. Ana glanced at Amelie before winking at the two.

“Well, I am glad you two finally mended with each other. How about some tea on the house?”

“Ana, you spoil us.” Amelie said gratefully as they made their way into the café. 

The two sat at the counter as Ana worked in the kitchen preparing their respective drinks. An awkward duo; Lena was clad in nothing but basketball shorts, an old band T-Shirt, and a pair of bright orange crocs whereas Amelie was more presentable, wearing a pair of worn jeans and a loose fitted sweater. The two held hands on the counter and Lena smiled up at Amelie.

“Does this make us girlfriends?” Lena asked, her voice shaking slightly as she raised their clasped hands.

Amelie shrugged and looked at her,”Only if you'd like to.”

”I don't know if I'd love anything more.” 

The two shared a brief kiss but quickly pulled away when they heard the entrance door open with a gentle ring.

“Damn, you two are up early.” they heard a low voice grumble.

Fareeha and Angela entered, both still in their pajamas. They took a seat next to them as Ana emerged from the kitchen to give Lena and Amelie their drinks. She nodded at Fareeha and Angela with a smile.

“I have a full house this morning. What would you two like?” Ana asked.

“To know why these two are here so early.” Fareeha answered almost instantly and pointed at Lena and Amelie. 

“After a large cup of coffee, please, Ana. Black.” Angela yawned sleepily. The older Amari nodded.

“This one has her priorities straight.” Ana said as she stared pointedly at Fareeha. She quickly brewed the mug and slid it towards the blonde who drank the beverage in practically one sip. When she was done, she gently set the mug down and stared straight at Lena and Amelie.

“I'm done, now spill.”

All eyes were on the two now and they were taken slightly aback. 

“I, uh well, you see-” Lena tried speaking but sputtered out incoherent syllables.

“We just went for a morning stroll and stopped by here.” Amelie said quickly. Ana raised a brow and smirked at the two.

“My security cameras say otherwise.” she chuckled when Amelie and Lena both flushed red.

“Well then,” Angela said, she nudged her elbow towards Amelie and grinned,“I assume it went well?”

“Yes, it did.” Amelie said casually, but a deep blush clung to her cheeks.

“Well I'm happy for you two,” Fareeha smiled. “It's about time, too.”

“Whatever,” Lena growled behind her mug of tea.

They chatted together until Angela and Fareeha had to leave for their first class. They waved good bye to each other as they all left the café with full stomachs.

“I have a good hour or so before my first class, what about you?” Lena asked as they walked side by side down the already bustling sidewalk.

“In about half an hour.”

Lena offered her arm with a cheeky grin,”I'll walk you there.”

Amelie smiled and took the Brit’s arm,”I'd like that.”

\---

Amelie checked her phone for the umpteenth time. She was waiting for Lena at their shared apartment for a date the Brit had planned for their six month anniversary. Admittedly, Amelie initially thought that celebrating such a minor milestone was ridiculous but Lena flashed her puppy eyes and Amelie couldn't drop the celebration. 

But Lena was running late, again. And if she didn't show up soon, they'll miss their reservation. 

She stood from her place on the bed and called Lena again, but there was no answer. As she made her way to the living room with a frustrated scowl, Lena came barreling in, hair askew and in clothes that would never be appropriate for the restaurant they were going to.

“Lena! Where were you?!” Amelie demanded and stalked towards her. ”We're going to be late.”

Lena immediately held her hands up in defence,”Love, there was never a reservation for a fancy dinner; I just wanted you to get into something nice.”

Amelie’s eye twitched slightly,”I crammed last night for a test I have tomorrow just so you can get me to wear something nice?”

“We're still going out!” Lena exclaimed. ”I just. I'm super nervous because… It's something that I've been meaning to tell you for a while now.”

“Lena, if you're coming out to me, I'm afraid I already know.” 

The brunette chuckled wryly at her girlfriend’s remark, her nervousness becoming apparent to the older woman. Amelie’s eyes softened when she noticed how much Lena’s shoulders fell in relief. She reached out to pull Lena into a tight embrace, stroking her wild hair gently.

“I'm sorry I got mad. It's just been a stressful semester.” 

Lena laughed lightly and pulled her in for a gentle kiss. ”I'll bet. But you're doing great, love.” She nodded towards Amelie’s numerous paintings and portraits that decorated the walls.

Lena grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the door. ”C'mon, let's go while the night’s young.”

They drove through the city, towards places that Amelie was unfamiliar with. Despite the growing uneasiness, Amelie took the time to appreciate her girlfriend and best friend. In the few months they were a couple, everyday together felt newer, brighter, and so much more beautiful. Amelie couldn't be anymore grateful for the erratic Brit, despite her constant schemes. 

The sun was already beginning to set behind them as they drove on the highway. Amelie found herself unable to recognize her surroundings. But she trusted Lena, anyway.

“You're not planning on murdering me, are you, cherie?”

Lena laughed as they turn towards an exit. A few more turns and she eventually pulled into a massive parking garage that was completely empty.

“Don't hope for too much, love,” she winked at her as she helped her out of the car,”Wouldn't want to ruin your dress.”

A single stool was there and Lena told her to take a seat. Amelie sat down as Lena got back in the car and rearranged it so that the trunk faced Amelie. The French woman waited patiently as the trunk opened, revealing a masked figure. Amelie raised her hand to cover her open mouth staring in disbelief that Tracer was sitting right there before her, waving back before tuning the ukulele in her lap.

“This one’s for you.” she said and began to strum gently.

“Wise men say-” she sang, waiting for Amelie to finish the line.

“-Only fools rush in.” Amelie completed easily.

Lena smiled under the guise before gingerly pulling off the shades and bandana. Amelie’s eyes widened as Lena continued softly,”But I can't help falling in love with you.”

“...Lena?”

Lena continued to sing, making sure that Amelie wasn't looking away nor running away. She wanted her to know that she trusts her. That she trusts her enough to show her a secret she wouldn't dare tell another soul.

“Take my hand, take my whole life, too.”

Lena ended the song in the middle of the verse, setting the instrument down behind her. She looked down in her lap and fidgeted with the mask instead of looking up at Amelie.

“I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, Amelie.” Lena rubbed the back of her neck. ”Phracer is getting bigger and I don't want it interfering too much with school and I didn't want to scare you away because…”

She gathered enough courage to look up at her. ”I dunno. I was just scared you'd love me just because I'm Tracer. Or love me because I was famous. But you've loved me in a way I could've never imagined. And I'm glad I fell in love with someone as amazing as you.”

“And I trust you,” Lena continued softly. ”I'm sorry I kept it under wraps for such a long time. I was just scared that I'd scare you away or you wouldn't want to date a singer or something-”

Amelie stood from stool and cradled her face in her hands, peering into the brunette's anxious eyes. She pressed a gentle kiss against Lena's lips.

“You fool.” she said and lightly flicked Lena's ear. ”You know I will love you no matter what. I was just scared you might murder me or something.” 

Lena laughed and Amelie couldn't help but smile and kiss her again.

“I love you, Lena Oxton. Whether you're Tracer or not. You stole my heart and I don't ever want it back.”

Lena pulled her into a tight embrace as she sat down next to her on the trunk of the car.

“I'm a lucky girl, aren't I?” she asked, holding her hand. Amelie squeezed back gently.

“I suppose.”

When Amelie kissed her again, Lena can't help but feel completely over the moon.


	6. Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> decided to add another chapter for pride month and for the one year anniversary of LBL :)) enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> brief warning for mention of hate crime, doesn't hurt to add this small warning

It’s a quiet Sunday afternoon as Lena’s cackle filled the apartment.They sat on the floor together with the screen and gaming system before them. She surpassed Fareeha, taking 1st place easily with the finish line standing just meters away. 

“Eat dust, Amari!” Lena cheered as Amelie, sitting on the couch behind her, combed through her hair in an attempt to calm down her girlfriend. She sat next to Angela, who was rubbing Fareeha’s shoulders in an attempt to get her to go faster. She’s chanting something under her breath, something about getting her head in the game, and Amelie just rolled her eyes. This woman was about to earn her doctoral degree in medicine but here she was getting flustered and worked up over Mario Kart.

Lena took her time getting to the finish line, waving the controller back and forth, until a flying blue shell descends upon her poor Koopa Troopa and explodes in a blue mushroom cloud and Fareeha’s Luigi cruised past her for an easy first place win, Lena taking measly 4th. She groaned and pouted while Fareeha rubbed her victory in her face. 

“And that’s why it’s ‘Phracer’ and not ‘Slipstream’!” Fareeha grinned. Amelie snorted behind them.

“You were going to name the band ‘Slipstream’?” she asked amusedly as Lena leaned back to rest against her legs.

“Oh, we’ve had tons of names, there was ‘Jet Engine’, ‘Mekanic’, and ‘21 Overwatch’.” Lena explained, standing from her place on the floor to sit in her girlfriend’s lap on the couch. “But that was all before we even had stage names.”

Amelie only hummed and leaned against Lena’s back as the brunette challenged Fareeha to another race. 

“You’re on, want me to give you a head start?” Fareeha taunted and Lena threw a scowl at her.

“You’ll be wishing you gave me a head start.” she said and chose Rainbow Road, much to Fareeha’s dismay. Suddenly there’s a knock at the door and Amelie reluctantly scoots from underneath Lena to answer the door. 

“Who’s it, love?” Lena asked from behind the couch as Amelie led the guests to the living room.

“It’s Lucio and Hana.” she called as they wave from their spot by the front door. Lena quickly paused the game and launched herself from her spot to greet her friends, Angela and Fareeha right behind her.

“Oh hey guys! Didn’t expect you to pop on by,” Lena pulled the two into an embrace with a bright smile. “What’s up?”

They shared a look and Lucio is the first to speak. “Just -- Just wanted to, uh, wanted to, uhm say hi?”

Lena’s brows furrowed as she looked up at them worriedly. “Did… Did something happen? Are you two alright?”

Hana sighed. “No, it’s not that. Lucio just sucks with words. We just wanted to come by to let you know we can’t do any recording… For a while.”

Fareeha stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Did something happen?” came out more of a demand than a question. Lucio shifted on his feet uncomfortably.

“The store… Got trashed... “ he explained softly and immediately, Fareeha’s eyes were set ablaze and Angela’s jaw squared.

“It _what_.” Angela said.

Hana waved a dismissive hand, casually unfazed. “Look, we didn’t wanna say it upfront ‘cus you were gonna go all vigilante-Batman type and eventually get yourself hurt. ‘Justice rains from above’ and all.” 

“Loves, if something happened, you should’ve called us! At least we’re, like, responsible, older people.” Lena said then gave Angela and Amelie a sidelong glance. “Well, at least two out of the four of us are. C’mon inside, Amelie’s made enough tea to quench the British Army and then some.”

“Do you have any footage?” Amelie asked quietly, pouring two cups of tea. Hana only groaned. 

“That’s the thing, we don’t. We can’t report for hate crime if there’s no one to blame.”

Amelie quirked a brow and shot an icy glare to the countertop where Hana sat. A shiver ran down Hana’s spine as she accepted the cup.

“Hate crime?” the French woman asked monotonously.

Now it was Hana that shifted uncomfortably and she hid her face behind her cup.

“... I set up some Trans-Supportive stuff on Thursday night for Friday to sort of celebrate Trans artists. But when I came to the store this morning… Someone had broken in.” Hana’s voice cracked and Angela pulled the girl in for a tight embrace. “It’s such _bullshit_ , I spent so long on all the decorations and the… _Things_ they sprayed and left behind…” 

“I’m so sorry, you two.” Amelie said softly and led them to the dinner table. As Hana composed herself, Lucio spoke solemnly.

“I’m really sorry, you guys. I know you really wanted to get that new album recorded and released,” Lucio grimaced. “But it’s going to take a while getting money together for repairs… And a better surveillance system.”

“Woah! Don’t worry about the album,” Lena reassured, pulling a seat up next to Hana and Lucio. “I’ve actually got an idea on how we can help with the… Expenses.”

Lucio and Hana looked to her incredulously. 

“You are _not_ going to spend a single penny on that store.” Hana argued adamantly. Lena held up her hands.

“Gee, I would if I could… That money kind of went… To other things... But nevermind that! I think Phracer is due for another concert soon, anyway.” Lena looked to Fareeha, who only ginned back widely.

“Oh, for sure!” she said excitedly.

“But-but-but how? And when?” Lucio stammered. Lena only winked.

“One tweet’s all I need. You guys think calling it a ‘Once In A Lifetime’ concert’ll round enough people up?” 

Hana grabbed at Lena’s hand. “No, Lena we can get money on our _own_.”

“But you two have helped us in more ways than I could have ever imagined,” Lena said, squeezing back. “‘Sides, that studio’s as much as Phracer’s as it is your guys’. Let us help.” she swiped away a lone, wet streak on Hana’s cheek as she smiled weakly.

“Thank… Thank you. But-- Only if you and Fareeha take half of the profit.”

“We’ll only need, like, 30%,” Fareeha shrugged. “Don’t really need tons when all I’ve got is right here.” she patted Angela’s forearm fondly with a smile and Hana and Angela only rolled their eyes.

“Okay, fine. But you better take it!” Hana said. Lena patted her shoulder amicably and stood, taking the cups to the sink.

“Alright then, it’s a deal! This is gonna be tight, but we can do this!”

Lena was right, earlier. 

She sent a single tweet from the official Phracer Twitter account and it had managed to go viral within the hour. It was vague but got the point across:

_A concert that only comes Once In A Lifetime… #Phracer #OnceInALifetimeconcert_

The tweet alone caused Twitter to crash a few hours after she posted it, only further proving her point that a single concert is all that they will need.

The next few weeks were packed with planning, budgeting, and reservations. Amelie and Lena were tasked with finding a concert hall big enough to seat all the people watching, but not posh enough that if the concert got out of hand, they landowner wouldn’t sue them over spilled milk. And broken glass. And windows, maybe. Lena’s charm came in handy when they managed to reserve the Symphony Hall in Boston with a solid handshake.

Ana volunteered to contact other big name superstars to promote, or even play in, the concert. Her curious connections managed to get singers Olivia Colomar and Satya Vaswani, as well as the bands _Russian Winter_ and _Takai Noon_ to feature. A once in a lifetime concert, indeed, Fareeha noted before with an impressed whistle when her mother told her all about her private messages with Olivia and Satya.

Angela enlisted the help of Jack and Gabe. While they were both very supportive of Phracer and Angela, they were very reluctant to deal with finances and crunching numbers. Not that it would have been difficult, if they didn’t keep selling out of tickets when they put them up for sale. 

With Fareeha filling in the cracks and dealing with social media and coordinating set lists with the various artists, it would be smooth sailing until the date of the concert. At least, almost smooth sailing.

“The concert hall can only seat 300,000 people, how did you manage to sell _half a million_.” Amelie asked exasperatedly as Angela typed away on her laptop. Ana came by and refilled Angela’s cup with more coffee. Angela didn’t even mix in any sugar or milk before she gulped down half the cup in one sip.

“I don’t know. There was a glitch in the system and before Gabe could fix it, we already sold 200,000 more.” she grunted.

Amelie sighed heavily as Lena and Fareeha entered the cafe. They briefly greeted Ana before making a beeline for their girlfriends. Lena’s arms came around Amelie’s shoulders and they relax considerably and Fareeha leaned her chin on the top of Angela’s head, watching the screen.

“Holy shit, we’ve sold 500,000 tickets already?” Fareeha asked. 

Lena squinted and looked to Amelie. “I thought the guy said there were only 300 grand seats”

“There _are_ only 300,000 seats there.” Amelie groaned. “Can we make the concert two days?”

Fareeha shook her head. “If we do that, we can’t have Olivia and Russian Winter the second day.” she pointed out. “And… Phracer has a surprise that’s kind of only good for one day.”

Amelie sighed in frustration as Lena eased the tension between her shoulders. 

“... Would you be completely opposed to a beach concert?” Lena asked quietly

“A beach concert?” Angela asked. 

“Yeah! Rod Stewart did it back in the 90’s, he got 3 million people onto Copacabana Beach. Don’t see why we can’t do the same.” Lena suggested.

Amelie cringed. “That’s going to be a lot of paperwork.”

“And I’ll help you the whole way through it, love.” Lena thumbed the wrinkles between her brows. “Please? For Hana and Lucio?”

She sighed through her nose. “For Hana and Lucio.” Amelie affirmed, and Lena cheered.

A quick announcement and change of dates and even more negotiation, they ended up reserving two miles of beach along the Southwest coast of California. When Angela opened up sales again, they managed to sell over a million tickets. They capped it at two million and instead opened a GoFundMe, explaining the cause of a sudden concert. Sales continued to grow the closer they got to the concert date.

It was hard enough planning the concert, let alone manage and prepare for the potential chaos. Lena would have to spend the next month after the concert spoiling Amelie for being so patient and shouldering a lot of the work and preparations. It was kind of hot the way she waltzed around ordering stage crew members to their places with that’ I am above you’ look.

Lena shook her head and breathed deeply, closing her eyes and mentally preparing herself for the concert. Outside, she could hear Olivia and Satya singing some kind of duo, until there’s shrieking that pulled her from her thought. Not even a second later, Fareeha barrelled in.

“What is it with you and bursting through doors--” Lena asked.

“Did you know Satya and Olivia were a THING?!” 

Lena’s brows raised in mock surprise. “Wow, really? Never would have expected it after they’ve done, like, a hundred collaborations.”

Fareeha crashed onto the couch next to Lena in their backstage room. The commotion from outside dying a little as Olivia and Satya start their next song. 

“... Do you really want to do this?” Fareeha suddenly asked quietly. “I mean, I’m not totally opposed, but if this is something you wanna back out of last minute, I understand.”

Lena breathed in and held it for a moment. 

“No, we can do this. As long as you’re up for it, partner..?” 

Fareeha grinned as she knocked knuckles with Lena. “Always together, Tracer.”

Lena then slipped on her bandanna and shades before shooting up from the couch. 

“Alright! Let’s do this!”

Fareeha followed her onto the stage, high fiving Satya and a lovestruck Olivia as they pass them and head towards their backstage rooms. Lena took her place behind the grand piano and Fareeha behind her drum set. She gave each part an experimental tap, for tuning and partially for luck.

The curtain is shut before them and the stage lights above are pointed away from them. The makeshift stage is lit by nothing but the moonlight and stars. Amelie stands by the curtains mechanisms waiting for either of their nods and Jack’s go ahead. Fareeha looks down towards Lena.

“Are you nervous?”

Lena looked to Amelie and nodded, and as the curtains split, she looked over her shoulder to Fareeha. Fareeha couldn’t see it, but she knew Lena was grinning under her bandanna.

“I’m _terrified_.”

The roar of the crowd is overwhelming and Lena can’t see anything except the flashing of camera’s and glowsticks among the crowd. She pulls the mic hanging above her and throws up a peace sign.

“We’re queer, we’re here, and we’re _not_ afraid to love!” Lena shouts and Fareeha crashed the cymbals. 

Lena had several concerts under her belt and she knew how to remain calm. But it was always a different vibe, every concert had a distinct feel to it. None were quite alike. 

It does nothing to still her heart. The piano sounded absolutely lovely and her voice feels raw with emotion and passion. A sidelong glance towards Amelie, Lena finds her lost confidence while watching her hop around to the beat and sing along to every lyric. They’re half way through their setlist and Lena feels anxiety creep up her neck with every beat of the bass drum behind her. 

She hit the last chord of the song and raised her arms above her. Fareeha stood from her drum set, tall and mighty, arms raised like a victorious gladiator.

The walk to the edge of the stage, arms linked. Lena raised the mic to her bandanna and waited for the crowd to get as quiet as possible. 

“This truly is a once in a lifetime concert, eh, Pharah?” 

Her partner nods solemnly next to her. 

“Now, I know you all have come from all over the world for this one surprise.” Lena teased and handed the mic to Fareeha, who took it and raised it to her lips. The crowd shifted in anticipation.

“Hi.”

The fans screamed and Fareeha only chuckled lightly into the mic. 

“My voice isn’t the only thing we’re revealing.” Fareeha explained. “We have some friends that fell victims to hate crime. That fell victim for living, for breathing, for existing.” 

The crowd booed and shouted in response, some even chanted,”Love is love! Love is love!”

Lena took the mic this time. “Love will win. Love with conquer. Love will trump hate!” 

They simultaneously reach under their guises and slowly pull them off as the crowd shrieked in response.

Lena threw up her signature salute and gave a lopsided grin to their fans. 

“I hope it was worth the wait!” Lena shouted and they scrambled back to their respective instruments. She chanted “One, two three, four!” and Fareeha crashed the cymbals with the force a million as Lena belts out a crowd favorite. 

“I just wanna stay in the sun where I find, I know it's hard sometimes--!”

\---

The concert doesn’t end until nearly two in the morning. Phracer, infamous for their concerts-turned-riots, managed to do just that. Word got around that local cops were rolling in and Lena made sure that everyone got out safely and a calmly as humanly possible. While people were gradually piling into cars and onto the heavy-traffic roads, Lena with her ukulele found a spot on the side of the road to serenade impatient drivers.

Fareeha tried to help with the flow of traffic. But with her pointing cars the best route and flexing, it ended up being more trouble than it was worth and Angela shoo’d her away.

They didn’t leave until nearly four, retreating to their hotel just a mile away.

Once Amelie guided a half asleep Lena to their room, Lena collapsed on the floor in an exhausted heap, snoring soundly. Amelie couldn’t carry her to the bed and instead slipped a pillow underneath her head and threw a blanket over her. She crouched down and pressed a kiss to her forehead, Lena mewled and reached up.

“Lay here with me.”

Amelie huffed. “Either carry yourself to the bed or stay here without me.”

Lena reluctantly stood and followed Amelie to bed. Amelie immediately curled up against Lena’s neck and sighed contently. 

“I love you.” she murmured as Lena peppered her forehead and cheeks with kisses.

“Love you, too, ‘Melie. Thank you for everything.”

Lena didn’t wake until two in the afternoon to Amelie on the kitchen counter coolly reading an article on her phone. Even from where she laid on the bed, Lena could read the big bolded letters of the headline: _Phracer Face Reveal at Once In A Lifetime Concert_.

Lena pulled herself off the bed and walked up to Amelie, her arms slipping around her waist and peeking at the phone over her shoulder. There’s two blurry photos of Lena and Fareeha on stage blown up with their real names underneath.

“Lena ‘Tracer’ Oxton” under a head of wild, short brunette hair and “Fareeha ‘Pharah’ Amari” under a blur of dark skin and neon lights.

Amelie offered up her cup of coffee to Lena and read the article out loud: 

“‘Phracer’, a small band hailing from no-name town, in some midwest state, has grown in popularity the past two years, with their latest hit, ‘Tear In My Heart’ reaching Billboard’s top five hits in less than a week of it’s release. Their face reveal at their ‘Once In A Lifetime’ concert in Long Beach, California proved its namesake as fans never even expected such a surprise…”

Lena smiled and laid her head on Amelie’s shoulder, setting the cup down. Amelie twists in her seat to cradle Lena’s head in her arms, petting her hair fondly.

“How do you feel?” she asked, drawing circles on her back.

“A little dizzy. You think we’ve made enough to help out Lucio and Hana?” Lena asked, already falling asleep in her arms.

Amelie chuckled softly,“More than enough; it’ll be enough to pay off their rent for the next five years at least.”

Lena yawns and Amelie stood to help her back to bed for cuddles.

“I’m glad.” she said as Amelie pulls Lena against her so that her front pressed against Lena’s back. 

“Any plans for that 30%?” Amelie asked curiously, pressing kisses to the back of Lena’s neck. The Brit giggled and turns around to cup her girlfriend’s cheek.

“I’m _so_ spoiling you with it. Thanks for all the preparing, love. Literally couldn’t have done it without you.”

Amelie only shrugged and snuggled against the crook of her neck. “You’re the only thing that kept me sane through it all.”

Lena laughed. “For as long as I’m here, love, I’ll keep you grounded.”


End file.
